I took another writing retreat and have spent the past couple of days enjoying the luxury of peace in an isolated environment unhindered by distractions.  I sat in a cozy chair by a fire with a view of the woods, as I hammered out some scenes and made headway on the paranormal fantasy novel I’m working on.

I tend to set lofty goals for myself during a writing retreat.  I figure that I can mentally justify these indulgent getaways if I can actually produce.  There are days when it feels like homework, when the computer screen is a bit intimidating, and I don’t know how quite how to transition from where I left off to where I want the story to go.  I’ve found though that the deliberate act of working on it begins to get the wheels turning, and before I know it, the words are flowing once again.

My goal right now is to get a working rough draft by the end of the year.  Though I’m making some minor edits and changes to existing chapters along the way, for the most part, I am trying to stay focused on completing a first draft in its entirety before getting too caught up in the editing process.

I’m no longer turning in chapters to my critique group, but I will probably do so once I’m done with the initial draft and ready to start the re-write process.  Until then, it just feels good to be moving forward.